A lot of little things

Today I did a lot of little things with Onyx. I worked on swinging the lead rope around more and then tied her up for a bit while I worked on the "mudball crusade". I snipped a lot more mud off, but there is a LOT more to go and I think she's going to have to get wet to get it all off. A lot that's left is right up against her skin. This stuff is some crazy mud, it's rock hard. I used a metal curry and got all of the little bits off of her neck and a lot of it off of her sides and rump. Tomorrow is supposed to be our last nice day so I'm hoping I'll be able to get her belly wet and get the crud off once and for all! I've seen pictures of some of the other "muddy" musangs, but I really haven't seen one as bad as Onyx! Her sides and belly were solid mudballs, layers upon layers of them when I started.

After chipping away at more of the mud, I introduced her to a saddle pad. Not a big deal except she seemed hesitant to walk around with it on. "What is this thing on my back?"

Then it was time for the surcingle. Again, no big deal. She looks almost bored in this pic, haha.

I didn't tighten it because of all the mud still in the way. I left it on her for a little while and worked on brushing out her mane. She has a long pretty mane right behind her ears... aaand right in front of her withers. Everything in between is short, thick, and sticking up everywhere. I'm not sure how much of her mane will grow out by April, but at least a few inches would be cool.

In continuing with my desire to expose her to general "weirdness", I also introduced her to me jumping up and down. I think anyone who might have walked by the stall would have thought I was a little nuts. I stood in the middle of the stall, holding the leadrope and started jumping up and down in place. At first Onyx freaked out and ran around and around in the stall... I just kept jumping. Then she stopped, I kept jumping. Finally she looked at me (with an expression kinda like "what the hell??") and I stopped. A few minutes later I started jumping up and down again, she didn't try to get away, instead within a few seconds she turned and looked right at me ("you are so weird"). She really is a smart girl. I've noticed more and more that she seems to pick things up (and repeat them) very quickly.

Now I just need to finish getting the friggin mud off her so I can get the saddle on!